Japanese FM Visits Colombo Port
By Aiswarya Lakshmi
Thursday, January 11, 2018
Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono has visited the port of Colombo in Sri Lanka. Kono was briefed by Sri Lankan government officials about a project under consideration to expand the port.
The Japanese Foreign Minister also visited the newly built control tower and the Colombo Port Expansion Project currently known as the Colombo south Port. Colombo is the largest port in Sri Lanka, which is a strategically important point in Indian Ocean sea lanes.
Taro Kono was briefed by the Chairman of Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) Dr. Parakrama Dissanayake about the project, the consideration to expand the facility and the ‘Three Year Plan’ that has currently been initiated to develop the Port of Colombo.
The Japanese government has been involved in building port facilities there for many years. Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyers on a counter-piracy mission off Somalia have made calls at the port.
The East Container Terminal's Phase I has been completed by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority (SLPA) and the Phase II has been proposed by the Japanese, the sources revealed.